Vote Smart Weekly Digest

The Vote Smart Weekly Digest brings you timely, non-partisan insights straight to your inbox, helping you stay informed on key political facts and developments.

House Rules Package: On January 3rd, upon the election of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution to adopt a new rules package. Among these rules includes a new threshold in order to vacate the Speaker of the House (moved from a threshold of one member to trigger the motion to a threshold of nine members) and a limit to the amount of votes on what are called suspension measures (a way to expedite passage of legislation by suspending the rules). The rules package passed by a vote of 215 to 209.

Biden Signs Social Security Fairness Act: On Sunday, January 5th, 2025, President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law. Voted on by both Houses of Congress by wide margins in December, this act repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government, among other provisions.

Wildfires in Los Angeles, California: On Tuesday, January 7th, several wildfires erupted in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of northwest Los Angeles, California. The fires, still burning throughout the week, have evacuated over 130,000 residents. In addition to the Palisades fire, over five more fires in surrounding neighborhoods also broke out. As of Thursday, five people have been declared dead. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, and the Biden Administration has been in contact with federal and state agencies to work to contain the fires.

Congressional Legislation

Congress - House failed HR 10515 - American Relief Act
Congress - House & Senate passed HR 10545 - American Relief Act 2025
Congress - House passed H Res 5 - Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, and for other purposes

State Legislation

Michigan (MI) - Senate passed SB 408 - Prohibits Wages and Taxpayer-Funded Benefits from Excessive Debt Collections
Ohio (OH) - House Concurrence vote & Senate passed HB 206 - Increases School Suspension to a Year for Students that Make Online Dangerous Threats
Ohio (OH) - Senate Concurrence vote passed SB 63 - Requires Individuals that Have Been Exposed to Asbestos to File Specific Types of Disclosures

Biographies and Elections: Here are some interesting candidates our team researched this week!

Democrat Ruben Gallego was sworn-in last Friday as the next Senator from Arizona. He was a five-term congressman from Phoenix who ran for the open seat being vacated by Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Like Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, he is one of the two first Colombian-American senators and the first Latino senator to represent Arizona.
Democrat Kannen Srinivasan is the newest member of the Virginia State Senate, winning a special election on Tuesday to replace Congressman Suhas Subramanyan in the 32nd district. Along with the election of Republican Luther Cifers in the 10th Senate District Special Election, the composition of the Virginia State Senate remains at 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans.
Republican Kelly Ayotte was inaugurated as the next Governor of New Hampshire. A former Attorney General of New Hampshire and U.S. Senator, she succeeds her fellow Republican Chris Sununu, who is retiring after four terms.

On January 7th, 2025, Virginia had special elections for three state legislative districts. Click the link below to view the results:

2025 Virginia State Legislative Special Elections: State House 26, State Senate 10, and State Senate 32.

What is a concurrence vote in the legislative process?

Allowing one chamber to override the other chamber’s decisions without debate.
Action by which one house agrees to a proposal or action that the other chamber has approved.
Introducing a new bill in both chambers.
Finalizing the appointment of committee members for a bill's review.

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